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Update after meeting with Minister Rowland 29 May 2024
Transcript
Hi, I’m Shirley, Acting CEO of Deaf Australia.
I would like to share an update with you about a meeting re had last Friday with Minister Rowland, Minister for Communications.
It was a very positive meeting and I was accompanied by communications expert, Phil Harper. We raised a number of issues including NRS and triple 0 emergency call access.
Minister Rowland acknowledged and apologised for the gaps and unclear communication and lack of collaboration prior to the recent NRS tender process and we discussed how this can improve for future.
We impressed upon the Minister the importance of the VRS service for the deaf community and asked her to consider making the VRS service a 24/7 service like the NRS. We discussed the importance of increasing funding is increased for this purpose. We highlighted how important the VRS is especially for deaf people who are not NDIS participants.
We also reinforced that the need for the VRS is not limited to business hours and a short time on Saturday. Minister is committed to working with us on improving VRS access alongside the Department of Communications.
We also asked about the lack of a consumer advisory group to the Department of Communications specifically on the NRS to provide consumer advice, experience and perspective on the NRS. In the past, from 1995 – 2013 there has been an advisory group but since 2013, there has been no consumer advisory group. The Minister was committed to investigating the reinstatement of this advisory group and acknowledged how important it is to have this group.
Finally, we explained the issues for deaf people access triple 0 emergency calls, how this could be improved including utilising an expanded VRS service. The Minister is committed to investigating how this can improve for the deaf community.
Thank you for supporting our work by providing your feedback to the recent NRS survey circulated by Deaf Australia. We will continue to keep you updated.
Visual description
Open slide: Graphic features white Deaf Australia logo on a green and blue gradient background. Text reads "Update after meeting with Minister Rowland 29 May 2024".
Video: A woman is sitting in a chair, dressed in a blue sweater, facing the camera and smiling. The background has a curtain, and the overall impression is of a warm and personable setting likely intended for an online audience.
CEO Update 28 May 2024
Transcript
Hello, I’m Shirley and I’m the Acting CEO of Deaf Australia.
Here is another video update:
We, (Deaf Australia) are very thankful to the members of the Deaf community for all the questions you have raised, your concerns and comments. There has been lots of messages received and contact made with us which is amazing. This really shows how keen you are to support Deaf Australia and we appreciate this very much. It is very motivating for members of the Deaf Australia Board to know that you are all willing to support us and no matter what happens into the future, I’m sure we will work our way through the issues we are now facing.
We know you are keen to provide practical support and here are some ideas. You can write letters to the Government or offer to volunteer to support the services of Deaf Australia as an organisation. You can donate money or help in fundraising efforts - there are many ways that you can assist.
We have a few happenings this week. We will be meeting with different people including AFDO, the Department of Social Services (DSS) and with Minister Rishworth. There will be lots of discussion to work out the best plan going forward. We will then provide another update either at the end of this week or early next week. This will talk about various ways to collaborate. So, thank you.
I also want to acknowledge representatives of other community organisations who have sent funding applications to the Government and have also been unsuccessful in getting funding. I want to recognise the difficult times that you are also facing.
There are other issues that I want to let you know about and to clarify a few things:
You will remember that I announced that our funding applications to the Government were not successful however that does not mean that Deaf Australia will close. We will continue to work very hard but there will be limits to what we can do based on our resources. This may mean that we are slower to respond and not act as quickly as we have before. I really want to clarify that first of all.
I am also aware that some people in the Deaf community are confused about how Government funding systems work. People think that other organisations are to blame and have taken over the area and this has led to the less-than-ideal funding situation for Deaf Australia. This is NOT correct. This is not their responsibility or their fault. This situation relates to the Government. The Government is responsible for accepting funding submissions or representations from many organisations and community groups throughout Australia. There are hundreds of grant applications received by the Government, these are reviewed and then funding given out to organisations. Government representatives reviewing the applications may not fully understand the issues faced by disability or CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) groups, the gaps and barriers experienced. They may not fully understand the impacts. Once the funding applications are received, the Government may not see deaf people as important which has major effects.
Service providers do not control the area, that is a totally separate issue. It is about the Government system not being the best.
We will now work on resolving these issues, so we are well prepared for the next government funding round next year.
I really want to acknowledge the service providers who have done so much to support us with projects and events. Examples include deaf services such as Deaf Connect and Expression Australia, two of the main services nationally and I want to say again that in no way is it their fault that Deaf Australia is in this situation. I hope that makes everything clear.
We are giving this lots of thought and hopefully I will be able to provide more information to everyone about how we can better work with the system. We may organise a webinar or a Q and A session so that we can have more discussion with you all. We would be happy to do this so maybe let me know if you would be interested.
That is the summary of the current situation and I want to thank you again for your support. You can be sure that in the coming weeks, we will be rolling up our sleeves and working hard to make sure that Deaf Australia continues into the future. We will also continue to engage with the Deaf community and communicate the next actions going forward. Once we have updates on issues to share, we will let you know, both this week and in the coming week.
Again, thank you all for taking the time to watch this video. Please share this video with your friends, family, work colleagues and community members far and wide. We see it as very important that Deaf Australia represents all of you in the community well.
Thank you.
Visual description
Shirley has black hair, which is tied back, is wearing a maroon-coloured cable-knit jumper and is standing in front of a cream background. There is text on the image providing context to the scene, which reads "CEO Update 28 May 2024" on the top left, and "Hello I'm Shirley and I'm the Acting CEO of Deaf Australia" at the bottom of the image. The overall impression is of a warm and personable setting likely intended for an online audience.
Media Release CEO Update 24 May
Transcript
Hello I’m Shirley, the Acting CEO of Deaf Australia.
This is an important video to provide clear information to the deaf community. As you know, Deaf Australia has worked tirelessly over the last 3 years and we have seen some great achievements through our systemic advocacy, negotiations with government and as a representative with various disability organisations. We have worked to ensure access to interpreters and have worked with many policy leaders to make sure that deaf people and Auslan is well represented in government discussions and decisions. We want to make sure that deaf community members enjoy a high quality of life.
Over the last 3 years Deaf Australia has been heavily reliant on government funding. Government funding has allowed us to increase our project work alongside our advocacy work. Each year Deaf Australia must apply for government funding. This year, we applied for three separate grants:
- ILC: SCP – Information Linkages and Capacity Social and Community Participation
- ILC: ICB – Information Linkages and Capacity Individual Capacity Building; and
- DRO – Disability Representative Organisation funds for systemic advocacy work
Unfortunately, we have recently been informed that our applications for funding have been unsuccessful. Not receiving this funding leads to some uncertainty about Deaf Australia’s future operations. Unfortunately, we will not be able to retain all of our staff so some staff will be finishing their employment by the end of June this year.
This is a very sad and disappointing situation for our community. The Deaf Australia Board and I are working hard to consider how we can better Deaf Australia’s position into the future and to make sure that we can best support our staff through this difficult time.
Deaf Australia is a member of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO). AFDO has arranged a consortium of 6 member organisations. Deaf Australia is a consortium member and we are fortunately able to obtain some funding through this consortium which will help us to continue some of our work in a limited way. Unfortunately, it is not enough funding to enable us to maintain all of our staff.
We will continue working with AFDO to advocate to government about the funding impacts on Deaf Australia and other disability advocacy organisations. The consortium, lead by AFDO, has accepted a 7th disability organisation who has also been impacted by funding cuts into the consortium. We will provide a list of the consortium members which includes other organisations that represent sensory disabilities e.g. deaf, hard of hearing, and vision. All members have been impacted by the loss of government funding.
AFDO will be launching a campaign aimed at increasing government funding to our organisation and to put pressure on government to acknowledge the important work that our organisations do. The campaign will be visible on social media in the coming weeks.
Deaf Australia thanks you for your support and we will continue to keep you updated about the position of Deaf Australia and its operations going forward.
We are very privileged to work with our community and we are committed to continuing Deaf Australia’s operations with the community into the future.
Thank you.
Visual description
A woman is sitting in a chair, dressed in a blue sweater, facing the camera and smiling. She is making a sign language gesture with her left hand, which is the sign for "hello" in Auslan. There is text on the image providing context to the scene, which reads "CEO Update 24 May 2024" on the top left, and "Hello I'm Shirley, the Acting CEO of Deaf Australia" at the bottom of the image. The background is blue with a curtain on one side, and the overall impression is of a warm and personable setting likely intended for an online audience.
Palliative Care – with Sophie Fletcher | May 2024
Content warning: some themes including old age and death are present in the following webinar.
Palliative Care webinar upcoming on 21 May
Transcript
We will have a webinar called “Palliative Care”.
Palliative care is treatment, care and support to help for people who are very sick and can't get better and will die from illness. So this care is all about making them feel as good and happy as possible.
We will have Sophie, a hearing doctor based in Perth, specialises in palliative care medicine, providing home-based care to people of all ages.
She will explain more about what palliative care is - supporting each person doesn’t matter what’s their age for what they need. This includes reducing pain, making plans for the future, and arrange counselling to cope with emotions.
Palliative care also helps families talk about important things together, supports and respects cultural traditions, and offers respite care.
You are keen to know more? Then come and watch this webinar!
Deaf Australia, Expression Australia and Deaf Victoria are working together to ensure this webinar is accessible. Auslan interpreters and captioning will be provided.
Please register soon.
Visual description
Paula is standing in front of a beige wall and wearing a black t-shirt, she has long blonde curly hair and is wearing glasses. She is signing towards the camera in a friendly manner.
Learn more about specialised care and support provided for someone living with a life-limiting illness. Auslan interpreters and captioning will be provided.
When: 21 May 2024
7:30pm – 8:45pm (NSW, VIC, QLD & TAS)
7:00pm – 8:15pm (SA & NT)
5:30pm – 6:45pm (WA)
Where: Online via Zoom
Perth Thinking Lab 2024 Update
Transcript
Hello! Exciting update about Thinking Lab in Perth 1-5 July. We've now got FAQ videos up on the website with Stef answering different questions. Maybe you're not sure about where will stay, what we will eat or if you can pay using NDIS funding? All this information is in the FAQ videos. There is also an application form. It's simple: you just put your name, age, where you live, and answer a few questions about who you are. Are you interested? Please apply!
Visual description
Gab is standing in front of a plain white background. She is wearing a plain brown swearer and signing in a friendly and informative manner.
Announcing Perth Thinking Lab 2024
We have an exciting new event to announce! Coming this winter, we are hosting…
PERTH THINKING LAB 2024 Thinking Lab 2024 is a space bringing many deaf people together to figure out what and how we think. Our aim is to develop and improve our deep thinking skills. We are busy preparing the application and FAQs for you, keep an eye on our social media and website for the latest updates.
Transcript
Hello Australian Deaf Community! My name is Gab Hodge. I'm Deaf from Melbourne and now working in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh in sign language linguistics.
Have you ever dreamed of spending one week at a beautiful location, thinking, learning and signing with other Deaf people? Yes, me too!
I’m excited to partner with Deaf Australia in hosting a new event in Perth from 1-5 July 2024.
Thinking Lab 2024: a space bringing many deaf people together to figure out what and how we think. Our aim is to develop and improve our deep thinking skills. Thinking Lab will not be like sitting in a row in a classroom watching boring lectures. We will watch different films. [Note for Deafblind attendees we can use different prompts on request]. We will draw on different ideas from these films, depending on all of our different interests. These ideas will be taken into group or one-on-one discussions, and we'll also do different creative activities designed to support development of our deep thinking skills.
Thinking Lab 2024 will be facilitated by myself and four other wonderful Deaf people:
- Annelies Kusters (Belgium) who is extremely knowledgeable about Deaf people, language, culture and film-making.
- Jody Barney (Australia) who has extensive experience relating to First Nations knowledge, culture, language and advocacy.
- Stef Linder (Australia) who is skilled with interpreting, translating and community development.
- Marta Morgado (Portugal) who is knowledgeable about linguistics, Deaf culture and visual notetaking. This is different to English notetaking, as it relies on transforming ideas into visual or tactile notes.
We are very excited to host this event together. Jody, Stef and myself all use Auslan. Annelies and Marta use BSL or International Sign.
There are 25 spots available for Thinking Lab. These limited places ensure we can provide a good quality learning experience for everyone who attends.
The registration fee is $2,000 per person and includes all food, accommodation and learning for the week. We also have five free places available for people who do not have access to funding.
Would you like to join? You must be:
- Deaf, Deafblind, Deaf disabled or hard of hearing and age 18 or older
- Comfortable using visual or tactile sign for the week
- Open minded, curious and interested in other people and ideas
We hope you will apply! Stef explains the application process in another video. We also have a series of FAQ videos that you might like to check for answers to any questions.
Hope to see you there! Thank you.
Visual description
Gab is standing in front of a plain white background. She is wearing a dark red turtleneck and signing in a friendly and informative manner.
